The Wavesheaf offering holds a pivotal role in determining the timing of Pentecost, as the fifty-day count begins from the day the sheaf is waved before God. The Church of the Great God maintains that this count should always start on the day following the weekly Sabbath that falls within the Feast of Unleavened Bread, ensuring that the first day of the count is a Sunday and Pentecost also falls on a Sunday. This pattern is exemplified by Jesus, the First of the Firstfruits, who ascended to heaven on the morning of the first day of the week after the weekly Sabbath during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, fulfilling the symbolism of the Wavesheaf. In years when Passover falls on a weekly Sabbath, a situation occurring roughly 13 percent of the time, the count to Pentecost may begin one day outside the Feast of Unleavened Bread to maintain a consistent rule. Scripture does not mandate that Wavesheaf Day must occur within the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and no historical record shows any Jewish group observing Wavesheaf Day on anything but a common workday following a Sabbath, never on a Sabbath itself. The insistence on using the weekly Sabbath within the Feast of Unleavened Bread as the marker for starting the count is reinforced by the example of Jesus, who was presented before God on a Sunday morning after the weekly Sabbath during this feast. This approach ensures the necessity of counting each year to observe Pentecost on the correct day, as the date of the weekly Sabbath within Unleavened Bread varies annually.

A new practice emerged when the Worldwide Church of God, under Herbert Armstrong, shifted the observance of Pentecost to Sunday in 1974, inadvertently introducing the insistence that Wavesheaf Day, rather than the Sabbath, had to fall within Unleavened Bread, even if it coincided with a holy day. Historically, during the time of Christ, the Jews did not allow Wavesheaf Day to fall on the First Day of Unleavened Bread because it marked the beginning of the harvest, a critical workday when the sickle was put to the grain, as God instructed in Deuteronomy 16:9 to begin counting the seven weeks from that moment. The waving of the sheaf was not merely ceremonial but signified the start of essential labor, which was not to be done on a holy day when God commanded no customary work. In examining Leviticus 23:9-11, God spoke to Moses, instructing the Israelites that upon coming into the land and reaping its harvest, they were to bring a sheaf of the firstfruits to the priest to be waved before the LORD on the day after the Sabbath. The phrase "when you come into the land" is often interpreted as an immediate requirement upon entering the land, yet it is a general instruction applicable when Israel was settled in the land, not necessarily the moment they crossed the Jordan. Other instructions, such as those in Deuteronomy 26:1-3, indicate that possessing and dwelling in the land, and going to the place where God made His name abide, were prerequisites, suggesting a span of time rather than an immediate action. Further, in Numbers 15:17-21, a similar "when you come into the land" instruction for a heave offering parallels the Wavesheaf, requiring labor-intensive tasks like reaping, threshing, winnowing, and grinding. If the Wavesheaf were assumed to be offered on the First Day of Unleavened Bread in Joshua 5, it would imply such work was done on a holy day, contradicting the sanctity God placed on these days. Additionally, God would not accept offerings of grain not sown by the Israelites themselves, as seen in principles from Exodus 23:16 and Leviticus 22:25, meaning the grain eaten in Joshua 5, which was not from their labor, could not be offered. Thus, Joshua and the Israelites were not required to make the Wavesheaf offering immediately upon entering the land, as other modifying instructions and the requirement of holiness in offerings to God took precedence. The idea that Wavesheaf Day and the beginning of the harvest could fall on a holy day is not supported by the events in Joshua 5, highlighting the importance of considering God's holiness and the sanctity of His appointed times in all observances.

In 1974, the Worldwide Church of God made a significant but unannounced change regarding the Wavesheaf offering, stipulating that the day of the Wavesheaf must always fall within the Feast of Unleavened Bread. This alteration diverged from the earlier understanding that the Wavesheaf day is to be the day after the weekly Sabbath within Unleavened Bread, even if it falls just after the Feast in years when Passover occurs on a Sabbath. The Sadducean method, which the church previously followed, identified the weekly Sabbath within Unleavened Bread as the anchor, with the count to Pentecost beginning the next day, regardless of whether it was within or just after Unleavened Bread. However, the 1974 change, influenced by interpretations like that of the Karaite Jews from the 8th century AD, prioritized placing the Wavesheaf day within Unleavened Bread, even if it meant aligning it with a holy day. The biblical instructions in Leviticus 23 emphasize that the Wavesheaf offering, tied to the start of the barley harvest, is to be waved by the priest on the day after the Sabbath within the context of Unleavened Bread. Deuteronomy 16 further clarifies that the count begins when the sickle is put to the grain, aligning the Wavesheaf offering with the harvest's start. This linkage raises concerns about scheduling the Wavesheaf on a holy day, as harvesting is servile work incompatible with the sanctity of such time. The Sadducean approach, consistent with the early church's practice, avoids this conflict by allowing the Wavesheaf day to fall after Unleavened Bread if necessary, ensuring the harvest begins on a common workday. Historically, at the time of Christ, the Sadducees, who controlled the Temple rituals, maintained that the Wavesheaf offering followed the weekly Sabbath within Unleavened Bread, a practice with no recorded disagreement from Christ or the apostles. The 1974 change, however, was implemented quietly, without the rigorous evaluation given to other doctrinal shifts like the Monday-to-Sunday Pentecost adjustment. Documentation from that period, including the Pentecost Study Material and internal church communications, reveals that the decision to fix Wavesheaf day within Unleavened Bread was made hastily, with calls for further study left unaddressed. This shift has since become the norm through inertia, despite contradicting the foundational understanding that Wavesheaf day is tied to the harvest and should not occur on a holy day.

The Wave Sheaf offering holds a critical place in determining the timing of Pentecost, as it serves as the starting point for the count. By God's clear word, the Wave Sheaf should be offered on the morrow after the Sabbath, specifically the weekly Sabbath within the Days of Unleavened Bread, as indicated by the definite article "the" in the Hebrew text. This Sabbath acts as the anchor for beginning the count to Pentecost, ensuring consistency each year, unlike the fixed-date Holy Day Sabbaths which would render counting unnecessary by always landing Pentecost on the same date in the month of Sivan. The command to count from the day after the weekly Sabbath during the Days of Unleavened Bread is a rule established to maintain uniformity, as inconsistency in counting would create diversity and confusion. Historically, various Jewish groups, including the Sadducees, Pharisees, Falashas, Karaites, and Essenes, have consistently used a Sabbath within the Days of Unleavened Bread for the Wave Sheaf offering, reflecting a shared understanding rooted in their familiarity with biblical language and tradition. The requirements for the Wave Sheaf offering are specific: it must be from the Israelites' own labors, from seed they have sown in their fields, and from their own land, not spoils or produce from a stranger's hand. It must be unblemished, accompanied by designated offerings at the Tabernacle or Temple, and waved before harvesting or eating of the crop, ensuring that God receives the best. In the context of Joshua 5, the Israelites could not make a Wave Sheaf offering because they did not meet these qualifications; the produce they ate was from the stranger's hand, not from their own labor or land, and they lacked the centralized worship structure of the Tabernacle at that time. Such an offering would have been an abomination, misrepresenting the pure, sinless, risen Christ, who the Wave Sheaf symbolizes, as ascending from corrupt, pagan origins rather than from the holy covenant people of Israel. Thus, there is no basis to use Joshua 5 to justify exceptions in counting to Pentecost or to support a Sabbath Passover followed by a Wave Sheaf Sunday. The consistent method of counting from the Sunday following the weekly Sabbath within the Days of Unleavened Bread remains unchanged by any scriptural authority to create exceptions.